Joe Biden cautions against ‘panic’ over Omicron coronavirus variant, urges boosters
- The US president says his team does not believe new vaccines are needed, but is already working with Pfizer and Moderna on contingency plans
- Biden will issue a new strategy later this week to combat a winter Covid-19 surge, but says the US will not implement further lockdowns or shutdowns
“This variant is a cause for concern. Not a cause for panic,” Biden said in remarks at the White House after a private briefing from his health advisers.
He said he will issue a new strategy to combat a winter surge of coronavirus on Thursday, but that the US will not have to practice further lockdowns or shutdowns.
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What do we know about the new coronavirus variant Omicron?
The new Covid-19 variant has now been detected in more than a dozen countries, though not yet identified in the US.
On Friday, Biden imposed travel restrictions on eight nations in southern Africa, where Omicron is believed to have emerged, but declined to say on Sunday if he would expand the limits to other places.
Doctors in South Africa have said symptoms of the new variant appear to be milder than the Delta variant, which drove a surge in infections in the US earlier this year.
But they have cautioned that it is too early to reach conclusions about whether Omicron is more or less dangerous than predecessors.
Global risk from Omicron coronavirus variant very high, WHO says
Biden applauded South Africa for promptly reporting the variant to the rest of the world, despite rewarding the country by blocking travel to the US.
Some of Biden’s ex-advisers have criticised the bans as ineffective.
But the president said he does not believe his travel ban will discourage future reporting of variants. He said the US needed time to boost vaccination rates before Omicron arrives in the country.
“No, I don’t think anyone’s going to be reluctant to report,” he said.
